Ruth Berry Peal was abducted from her home and forcibly subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) in January 2010. The day before the abduction, Peal had argued with two women from the Gola ethnic group and their chief ordered that she be genitally mutilated. Peal’s ethnic group does not practice FGM but many groups in Liberia, including the Gola, Bassa, and Dei, use FGM as part of an initiation into the Sande society, a politically-influential secret society.

After a month of hearings, the jury found the two women guilty of kidnapping, felonious restraint and theft on 8 July 2010. The sentencing of the two women will occur later this month.

Despite obligations under several international and regional treaties that prohibit FGM, Liberia does not have a law that criminalizes FGM. It is estimated that fifty-eight percent of Liberian women are subjected to the procedure.

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